Ivory ferrules, pads or no?

[twilight]

I have been playing with ivory ferrules for years but always with pads. I've always heard they dampen the hit of a cue. I've been thinking about taking the pads off my ferrules for more "feel." I'm not looking for any magic cure to make me play better. I'm just wondering if I get the pads removed, would the cue have more "feel?" If so how much difference would it make, could a decent player notice the difference?

 

[Gunn_Slinger]

I have been playing with ivory ferrules for years but always with pads. I've always heard they dampen the hit of a cue. I've been thinking about taking the pads off my ferrules for more "feel." I'm not looking for any magic cure to make me play better. I'm just wondering if I get the pads removed, would the cue have more "feel?" If so how much difference would it make, could a decent player notice the difference?

I have been playing with ivory ferrules since 1974 (1974 Joss cue,ivory joint and ivory ferrules)
I have played with and without fiber pads and found the hit is slightly
softer without the pads. The problem is without the pads you have to
be careful that you don't let the tip get too thin, as it is easy to crack
a Ivory ferrule with a thin tip.

Good luck
mr.g

 

[desi2960]

no pads

using a pad on an ivory ferrule to me is like doing you know what, wearing a you know what. chuck

 

[Steve Ellis]

I have been playing with ivory ferrules for years but always with pads. I've always heard they dampen the hit of a cue. I've been thinking about taking the pads off my ferrules for more "feel." I'm not looking for any magic cure to make me play better. I'm just wondering if I get the pads removed, would the cue have more "feel?" If so how much difference would it make, could a decent player notice the difference?

I've used ivory ferrules with pads and ivory ferrules and I've not noticed much difference. I guess I prefer them with pads on the off chance that they do provide a little protection to the ferrule.

 

[Steve Ellis]

using a pad on an ivory ferrule to me is like doing you know what, wearing a you know what. chuck

You mean eating a steak with a mitten on your tongue, right?

 

[bigshooter]

The last time I used an ivory ferrule with no pad I hit a hard draw shot, broke the ferrule and cracked the shaft about 3/4 of an inch... ruined shaft.

The upside is I had Troy Downey make me a new shaft and it hit better than the original Joss shaft.

 

[WheatCues]

I have been playing with ivory ferrules for years but always with pads. I've always heard they dampen the hit of a cue. I've been thinking about taking the pads off my ferrules for more "feel." I'm not looking for any magic cure to make me play better. I'm just wondering if I get the pads removed, would the cue have more "feel?" If so how much difference would it make, could a decent player notice the difference?

Depending on customer's personal preferences dictates whether or not I install a pad...

However, from a cuesmith standpoint, it all depends on the hit and feel I am trying to achieve when working with an Ivory ferrule...

You can sleeve or cap an ivory ferrule as well as with a pad or without and this gives you various combinations when gearing up the parts to play exactly as wanted...

I feel that the pad is noisy and gives you a more harder hit so I do NOT suggest pads to my customers even wth a hard hit configuration due to the synthetic feel the pad transfers... and since the porpose of the pad to begin with was to protect and ivory ferrule when the tip gets low, most of my customers who do not use pads have zero problem with any damage happening due to proper care...

You will also see inexperienced cuesmiths install pads on pred 314's and other proprietary ferrules just to insure that they don't take off too much of the ferrule when making a pass to clean it up before tip installation so the pad acts as a "failsafe" for future tip work and for those who's sense of "touch" or vision isn't as keen as they would prefer....

Pads are a preference for the most part and are not needed for ivory ferrules but are recommended for the players who like to wear their tips down to the "quick"



- Eddie Wheat

 

[bigshooter]

I like a thinner tip so maybe that was the problem with mine breaking but when I went from Ivory to a synthetic ferrule I actually liked the hit better, personal preference I guess.

 

[twilight]

I realize the risk of playing without a pad, I personally don't let my tip get worn down much at all. I was more curious if removing the pad made a difference in feel. With all the factors going into the hit of a cue, I hear more often that the tip plays a big factor in how a cue feels. The pad being the next closest thing that contacts the cue ball, I was curious if removing it would make as big a difference as would a different tip?

On a different note, when I hear people say a cue hits softer or harder, I've heard steel joints play hard and wood joints play soft. If this is correct, where would a ivory joint fall?

 

[tattoosbyjay]

I realize the risk of playing without a pad, I personally don't let my tip get worn down much at all. I was more curious if removing the pad made a difference in feel. With all the factors going into the hit of a cue, I hear more often that the tip plays a big factor in how a cue feels. The pad being the next closest thing that contacts the cue ball, I was curious if removing it would make as big a difference as would a different tip?

On a different note, when I hear people say a cue hits softer or harder, I've heard steel joints play hard and wood joints play soft. If this is correct, where would a ivory joint fall?

i think the ivory joint has a better responsive fel mine is ivory and i lve the way it hits you get way more feel than a steel joint i have sevencues and i play with the ivory jointed one

 

[tpdtom]

The last time I used an ivory ferrule with no pad I hit a hard draw shot, broke the ferrule and cracked the shaft about 3/4 of an inch... ruined shaft.

The upside is I had Troy Downey make me a new shaft and it hit better than the original Joss shaft.

Well, I broke Nine Ball and everything on the Bar Box for years with my JossWest with ivory ferrules without cracking anything. My shafts are now 29 years old and still solid along with the ferrules. Back in the day, we used very hard French leather tips and without super glue installation was a bigger deal than it is today. We let the tip get right down to the quick and the pad protected the ferrule. If you use a layered tip, or don't let your hard tip get too thin, there is no reason for a pad at all. I admit I like the look of them, but after some experimenting I've decided that I prefer the hit without them. YMMV...Tom

 

[twilight]

Well, I broke Nine Ball and everything on the Bar Box for years with my JossWest with ivory ferrules without cracking anything. My shafts are now 29 years old and still solid along with the ferrules. Back in the day, we used very hard French leather tips and without super glue installation was a bigger deal than it is today. We let the tip get right down to the quick and the pad protected the ferrule. If you use a layered tip, or don't let your hard tip get too thin, there is no reason for a pad at all. I admit I like the look of them, but after some experimenting I've decided that I prefer the hit without them. YMMV...Tom

Hey tom, just curious do you think the difference in the hit was that noticeable? Or let me rephrase, did you have the pads removed and notice a difference from just a small change?